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Excerpt:

Why meditation works for me. Meditation for me is like a type of therapy. Talking to others doesn’t do anything for me. I always have and still address my worries and lifelong questions to myself, not others. It may be a flaw but that’s not for anyone but myself to let it become one. The first time I meditated it actually didn’t work and during this time I was an Atheist and had no beliefs on afterlives or before life. It wasn’t until I saw an article that said if you don’t believe that meditation will work, then it won’t work. You have to believe that meditation will work for its work. When I heard that it actually only made me not believe mediation worked even more. But a few months later with my anger issues at peaks I decided maybe to try once more, in an effort to calm my anger down and for me to not be so quick to anger I sat myself down in a place I saw as safe, made sure I was comfortable and on the floor. Began to breathe in and out for a seven-second duration of each breath in and out, with my eyes closed I began to see my breath cycle as a symbol much like an infinity symbol with one side with breathing in and the other side of the infinity symbol is breathing out. After this I would begin to think about things deep to me and my personal issues I’m working out. Time would feel a lot slower as the last time what felt to me as 20 minutes was actually over 6 hours. Things like that really take me by surprise and impact the way I think when I see it can control the way I perceive time.

For my senior year capstone project, I chose to expand and improve our school’s community involvement club after being appointed as the leader of the club by its previous leaders. One of my core philosophies as a person is that if you have the resources to help others who need it, you must do so. I wanted to share the sentiment with my peers by upgrading the club’s activities, consistency, and overall impact on the community. I wanted to ensure that we were participating in activities that were truly helping others. Throughout the 2019-2020 school year, I developed new regular volunteer activities for students to participate in as well as scheduled monthly standalone events for us to help run. Running and developing CIC this year was a challenge but it taught me a lot about the importance of leadership and service. To digitize my capstone, I composed a timeline of the 9-month long project from the beginning of the school year in September to May 2020.

Capstone Abstract

For my capstone, I created and ran an Etsy shop where I sold my original artwork. I sold greeting cards, watercolor paintings, collages, and different customized items that I painted/collaged on such as tote bags or jewelry boxes. All the proceeds from the sales I made went to Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Program, an organization I am passionate about. When my capstone was finished, I was able to raise over 400$. My capstone process started with research and inquiry, where I learned how to best run my Etsy shop and fleshed out the particulars of my project with the help from my parents and mentor. I then worked hard to amass diverse a body of work that I could sell and set up my shop. Finally, I photographed my products and listed them on my site, marketed my site through social media and email, and shipped out orders. I had to adapt to obstacles throughout my process and not everything turned out as planned, especially because of the impact of COVID-19. Despite this, I am really proud of what I was able to accomplish with my Capstone. I chose to do this project because it combines two things that I am passionate about, art and helping others. It was amazing to be able to let myself have full reign over this project creatively and translate that into a digital business model, and to engage in my passions in a way that will make a difference for the people of my city.

Capstone Deliverables

Link to my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/marenlambarts?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Screencaps of my Etsy shop:

Photos of my products:

Annotated Bibliography

“7 Essential Types of Product Photos.” Etsy, www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/7-essential-types-of-product-photos/22504064051.

This source is another one that has to with taking pictures of your Etsy items. It’s an official Etsy article, which I think is the best because it includes some inside knowledge of the platform. It goes into a bunch of different types of shots that are good to include when you are listing a product online. I never thought to have a scale shot or one that shows the product in action. It also made me think about how I will get clean studio shots for my products. I will need good lighting, a blank background, and a good camera.

“7 Steps to a Successful Start on Etsy.” Etsy, www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/7-steps-to-a-successful-start-on-etsy/22421860924.

This source gave me a baseline of the basics of starting an Etsy shop. I like that it is straight from the source where I will be making my site, so the steps are approved by it. It gave real examples of past Etsy users and how they were able to manage a shop. I was particularly inspired by the section about setting attainable goals, and used that to create my goal of raising 100$ for the Philly Mural Arts Program. I also thought that the advice on making keywords would come in very handy.

“Best Selling Items- Cards.” Etsy.com, Etsy, www.etsy.com/search?q=best selling items cards.

This source is the best selling greeting cards Etsy page. I will use it to look at the pages of the people who are selling the most and look at their designs and setup. I want to learn from those accounts so I can make the most successful shop possible. I noticed that a lot of the greeting cards have included humor or pop culture references so I will definitely keep that in mind when I continue to make mine. In the future, I will look at the tags that people used to list their items with so I can use those some tags for my items.

CBS. “Top Philadelphia Arts Programs To Support.” CBS Philly, CBS Philly, 23 Apr. 2012, philadelphia.cbslocal.com/top-lists/top-philadelphia-arts-programs-to-support/.

This source was very helpful in figuring out what organization I wanted to donate to. I definitely wanted to support something having to do with the arts, so I started with that idea and found this source. Each organization had different pros and cons, and going through that list and made me realize what was important to me in an organization. While I didn’t end up using any of the organizations it mentioned, it let me think of the scope of the city and ultimately led me to the Philly mural arts program, which is where I’ve decided I’ll donate.

Dizon, Anna. “Top 30 Tips for Selling on Etsy From the Pros.” Fit Small Business, 19 Dec. 2019, fitsmallbusiness.com/selling-on-etsy-tips/.

I really like this source because it includes testimony from real Etsy users to show what works and what doesn’t work in running a shop. A lot of them mentioned the use of keywords, which I haven’t really thought about. One mentioned the use of a business card that would be included with orders, and I think I will definitely use that to add to the personal vibe of my site. Another tip had to do with making sure you don’t infringe copyright, which definitely could be an issue with the slogans on my greeting cards.

Furgison, Lisa, et al. “4 Mistakes That Will Tank Your Etsy Shop -.” Bplans Blog, 16 Feb. 2018, articles.bplans.com/4-mistakes-that-will-tank-your-etsy-store/.

I obviously don’t want my shop to fail, and I liked that this article specifically goes into the don’ts of having an Etsy shop. It was specifically interesting to hear about taking photos, because I hadn’t really thought about how the product actually looks online being different than in real life. Same thing with item descriptions. I need to make them sound personal and unique, according to this source. Same thing with search engine optimization. I thought that marketing and views had only to do with social media and getting the word out, but I also have to think about random strangers searching my items.

Pilon, Annie. “10 Awesome Tips for Starting an Etsy Business.” Small Business Trends, 25 Dec. 2018, smallbiztrends.com/2018/06/starting-an-etsy-business.html.

This source was very helpful in giving tips on handling the financial side of my Etsy shop. I have to think a lot about what is going to be appropriate pricing for my products, and this article goes into that. It states that you must always consider time, materials, and profit when finally pricing an item, and I think that that is a great reminder. It also talks about investing in shipping supplies, which I had never thought of. I think it opened the door for a lot of questions about how I should ship certain delicate items. Overall, it made me think more critically about the practical aspects of the store.

“Restorative Justice.” Mural Arts Philadelphia, www.muralarts.org/program/restorative-justice/.

This source is what ultimately made me decide to donate to Mural Arts Philadelphia when my capstone is over. I really loved learning about this program and thought that it was something really worthwhile to donate to. On the website, it talks about the effectiveness of the restorative justice program and I was very impressed by it. I felt that I understood much better what I would be giving my money to. It’s just something that I really stand for, and that is why I decided to include it in my project.

Sonsev, Veronika. “Need For Speed: Etsy Shows That Some Items Are Worth Waiting For.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 22 May 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/veronikasonsev/2019/05/22/need-for-speed-etsy-shows-that-some-items-are-worth-waiting-for/#51580bc25599.

This source was useful to me because it showed an outside perspective on Etsy from a major business publication. The source talks a lot about the uniqueness factor of an Etsy purchase. I have to make sure that my products are things that cannot be bought anywhere. It gave a lot of good stats about the demographics of Etsy and who would be viewing my products. It also mentioned that the personal customer-seller relationship also contributes to Etsy’s success, so I will keep that in mind and try and add some personal touches.

“Want More Studio Time? 5 Killer Productivity Tips for Artists.” Artwork Archive, www.artworkarchive.com/blog/want-more-studio-time-5-killer-productivity-tips-for-artists.

This source was very helpful for me in the practical work side of things. I struggle with staying on-task, especially with large scale projects like this one. I think that I am most likely to be derailed with my art, so I want to use the tips from this source to get ahead of that. I think I learned that I might have to work on times that aren’t specifically designated for capstone, but when I feel most creative and ready to work. I liked the idea that the article presented that when I am done with working on my capstone for the day, I should be intentional about leaving the work in the past and moving on with my day.

Through a period of about five months, I worked on remodeling my home basement. I started with cleaning out space than followed up by planning and budgeting the renovation project. I engaged in producing something that I have long hoped to complete since the summer of 2019. It includes creativity, labor, design, and, last but not least, engineering skills. Unfortunately, with the appearance of Covid-19, I had slow progress. I had the idea of putting forward a project that would benefit my family even after I leave for college. I wanted to leave behind something that my brothers can look up too. It’s the first time I ever did something like this, but I learned a lot from my thinking process. I learned that having a “finished product” and a finished product are two different things. One is putting in the work and being satisfied with the effort put in. While having a finished product is attempting to hit every point and being content with the outcome according to the effort put in.

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/177cJVq4aqj7rt0bu9xI0S1H37WUxQU9kjU2B9LztPpk/edit?usp=sharing

For my Capstone I combined two of my passions, Genetics and Engineering to create a website that parents can go on to look at certain traits that their unborn child could have. I used my knowledge of genetics to do the science portion of my site, aka the information that is given back to the user. I needed to learn HTML, a content language and CSS, a styling language, the engineering part, to complete my site so that was my first step. Through watching multiple hour long videos I began to pick up the basic concepts of both languages. From there I built my site into what it is now. My last step is to publish my site for others to use, which has been giving me trouble so for right now, the site lives on my computer. (This might get figured out later though!) Attached below are pictures of the home page of my website.

Annotated Bibliography: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wNQ7xn1Gn8JOQULJEVYIARuiq3Yqg1lLF_fKfNmWivM/edit?usp=sharing

For my capstone I decided to create a mini documentary of my life. The purpose of this was to tell the world my story. I wanted people to know that even if you look different because you have a disability, you should still love yourself and be proud of who you are. Having a disability does not mean you are not special or should think little of yourself. if anything your disability makes you stand out and unique. In the documentary I tell my story in the hope of inspiring others and myself. Throughout my life it took a long time of gaining confidence in myself to reach this point of speaking my truth. When you are younger you just wish for the whispers, stares, and laughter to stop everytime you come outside. Or in my case to not always want to hide behind my mom or sister so people would not laugh at me. Telling your story helps people understand you dont think you are different than anyone else. It also shows you love yourself for who you are. My capstone taught me my voice can be a powerful weapon and that i need to use it. Ultimately I hope people be proud of who they are despite of anything they encounter in life. Disability or no disability everyone is beautiful in their own way. We can never let what others think of us stop or block our path of being the greatest version of ourselves we can be.

For my Capstone, I did volunteer work at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. I was a volunteer in the Child Life Department- Child Life specialists help families and children cope with the stress of hospitalization. As a volunteer in this department, I was tasked with supervising the playrooms in the hospital and doing bedside visits to patients who were in isolation, bringing them toys, and playing games with them. I went from 9:00-1:00 every Saturday. I spent the first few months of the school year retrieving all necessary documents, clearances, and health screenings for the position. I then had to attend three separate orientations, to get the best possible understanding of the responsibilities. Finally, during my first shift, I shadowed a veteran volunteer to get more comfortable with the layout of the hospital and see the close-up interaction with the children. Unfortunately, I was only able to complete 3 full shifts before the hospital closed to volunteers due to COVID-19. Even in the short amount of time I was there, I learned so much about what people can do to make young children feel safer and cared for in hospital settings. Many patients feel very alone or confused in the hospital; having toys, art projects, or games can change their entire experience. I loved this Capstone because I had the opportunity to connect with young children and explore elements of what I want to do in the future. Although my capstone timeline is finished, I plan on returning to St. Christopher’s Hospital when it is safe and continuing my volunteer work.

What I did in my Capstone was make beats which I rapped to make an album. Each rap is about an environmental factor like climate change or pollution. I wanted to make raps talking about our environment and letting people know that if we keep this up our planet will not be able to recover. I made the beats on Garageband which is a music app on iPhone and it has a lot of music options to create anything you want. With each new beat, I made it progressively got better and I really felt the growth comparing the first beat with the last. I like making beats and I really wanted to apply that to my capstone in some way. The link to the album will be provided below this summary if you would like to listen. You’re going to have to copy and paste it in your URL. Also, the lyrics are in the description of each rap but the instrumentals are there if you want to listen to the beat or you want to try rapping on it, talking about the topic yourself.

(Presentation link) https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AWbOkmtULUxfC2YDejKPNDBPIllUKM-nm-bCk9ScVMo/edit?usp=sharing

Nature’s comet (album link below)

Bibliography link https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OhKjDryrJASZzGXlTJxAw9xQjS6pigKmNMcVUWCZZfw/edit?usp=sharing

As Philadelphia’s 2019-2020 Youth Poet Laureate, the intended goal for this capstone and my laureate project was to create a youth-based poetry anthology, centering around the broad theme of Philadelphia. The collection would have existed in a digital form, and would not only provide a voice for underrepresented poets, but also reveal the vast experiences of life in Philadelphia. Throughout the process of creating this anthology I ran into obstacles, such as realizing the difficulties of creating and distributing physical anthology books by May. Instead, I decided to create an online collection that would be more easily accessible. As time progressed and the number of submissions to the anthology remained low, I further determined that my capstone should be modified to highlight my entire year as Philadelphia’s Youth Poet Laureate. I wanted to create a digital time capsule that shows the various events, readings, performances, workshops, and poetry commissions that I worked hard on throughout my tenure as laureate. The laureate experience taught me invaluable lessons on how to communicate with event coordinators, how to lead as a young person, and how to establish a voice as an artist. This capstone serves to document the civic position for all to see what being the laureate entails, and to show rising young poets that their voices are valuable. This website is a collection of images, poems, documents, and videos that represent my time as Youth Poet Laureate, but it also exhibits just how powerful a young poet’s voice can be.

We’re so honored to share Serenity’s Capstone. This is an incredible example of what SLA students can do, even under the most challenging of circumstances.

(slightly unfinished due to covid)

SLA Q2 report card conferences with students, families and Advisors will be held on Thursday, 2/6 and Friday, 2/7. Families should consult with their child’s Advisor(s) to discuss conference times on one of those dates.

Students will have noon dismissal times on both 2/6 and 2/7. Class schedules on each day will run as indicated below.

Thursday, 2/6

08:15 - 08:55 C Band

09:00 - 09:40 D Band

09:45 - 10:25 E Band

10:30 - 11:10 A Band

11:15 - 11:55 X1/Y1 Band

11:55 - 12:00 Advisory (Transpass Pick-Up)

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch/Dismissal

Friday, 2/7

08:15 - 08:55 B Band

09:00 - 09:40 C Band

09:45 - 10:25 D Band

10:30 - 11:10 E Band

11:15 - 11:55 X2/Y2 Band

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch/Dismissal

Author’s note: When reading my essay I would like you to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Power is a privilege. Being able to make choices for yourself and having the power to be whoever you want to be can be exciting, but this power can be taken away when labels are put in place by others. Labels are created to confine people into a box; to limit them and make them feel as though they do not belong. This often happens to immigrants that come to the United States, seeking a better life than what their home country could offer. The United States gives off the impression that all are welcomed but in reality, those who flee to the states feel as though they do not belong because Americans never let immigrants forget the fact that they were not born here. Already feeling misplaced because they have lost their homes, the center of their universe, just to come to a place where they believed they would be safe but really isn’t what’s being advertised. Most Americans tend to focus on themselves and when things interrupt our system we usually push them to the side so we don’t have to worry about them; I think that’s when labels come into play. I don’t feel as though it’s to be seen as being self-absorb or being selfish, it’s just that most Americans prefer to stay in their own world. By giving people a label it limits them and puts them into a box that others can push to the side. A lot of people have the mindset of if it isn’t a problem for me then I don’t want anything to do with it, I know most of the time I personally act that way but I have to catch myself and come to my senses. America has a lot of crappy components within itself, which is why its people focus on that rather than the outside world because we can not help other people’s problems as we’re still dealing with our own. This tends to be the case more if you’re black causing you to be desensitized on another level. I feel like Americans began to see certain stuff as normal because of how often it appears so when it happens to others it’s not as shocking or overwhelming for one to handle. When following most narratives about immigration the concept of labels is heavily represented. From them being seen as being poor, illegal, thieves, being helpless, or that this is the perfect life that they’ve always dreamed of. These labels are distributed by people who choose to forget where they have come from. It amazes me because they are being seen as someone/ something they want to be seen as but now immigrants are only seen “through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.” Forgetting that 98.4% of the United States’ population isn’t native to the land meaning that technically we all deserve at least one of the labels that are constantly being given out. The fact that many people believe that immigrants should have the “perfect life” now that they have come to America but are limited. The concept of the American Dream doesn’t really seem to be everyone’s dream. I wanted to focus on a narrative by a young Nigerian girl who didn’t believe in this dream. She found herself trying to fit into the American standard but when she was in Africa she felt free. No longer feeling the pressure to be someone she isn’t. The feeling of not having a home is bad enough because home isn’t just a building. It isn’t just somewhere where you place your head at night. It is the thing that your heart yearns for when you are lost, mentally or physically and when that is taken away a part of you is taken away too. So imagine not having a home and coming to a new place that doesn’t allow you to consider it your home; it would suck.

Works Cited: Nazario, Sonia. Enrique’s Journey. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014 Okoro, Enuma. “A Return to Nigeria.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2014, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/a-return-to-nigeria/?hp&rref=opinion

INTRODUCTION: How do we identify home?

In my essay, I wrote about what home means and the struggles many refugees face when fleeing to other countries in hopes of safety. I used the film Beasts of the Southern Wild to get my message across. As you read, I’d like you to think about how you view home, and how we treat and think about refugees who’ve lost their homes.

ADVANCED ESSAY #2: HOME: AN EXTENSION OF SELF

In a brightly lit room, white walls and shutters take place in the background, along with a light pink toy set. Two young white girls in dresses stand towards the back of the photo. A white woman bends over to talk to a young black girl with fluffy brown hair pulled back out of her face. The young girl wears a pretty little blue dress with a white collar. Her face shows sadness and dissatisfaction. The girls name is Hushpuppy. When she’s home, you can tell she’s a free-spirited girl. She wears her hair out in a fro, a shirt, pants, and boots. She’s a wild little girl, whose spirit is being suppressed at the hands of outsiders. People claiming that they know what’s best for her and her people by inserting themselves in the lives of those they don’t quite understand.

Of the various struggles refugees face during times of war and migrating to places of refuge, one big loss they experience is the feeling of home. They have had their home(s) torn away from them, whether that means their culture, their people, places, and or objects. Broken countries, homelands that no longer serve as a home but as a battlefield. “Sometimes you can break something so bad that it can’t be put back together,”(Beasts of the Southern Wild). Losing home is a fight against one’s identity.

In the film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, the viewer watches as Hushpuppy and her father fight for their home, the Bathtub. The Bathtub is a swampy part of New Orleans that gets the worst hits of storms due to it being below sea level. In the film, they go through some similar struggles that refugees go through. As a large storm was getting ready to sweep over New Orleans, the people of the Bathtub had to choose whether or not they were going to evacuate or stay in the attempt to rebuild after the storm hit. Most of the people leave, but Hushpuppy, her dad, and a few others stayed to fight.

As home is often associated with a house, the truth is, the two are not always interchangeable as some people’s houses are nests of negativity. Places they may be seeking asylum from. When addressing home, it is meant as the attachment to these things. These places, people, objects, and ideas. It is when they give off a feeling of love, nostalgia, and comfortability, can one consider something a home. Home is often also a thing through which ones culture thrives.

It can be extremely hard to keep your culture and cultural practices pristine when you migrate to somewhere with different cultures. You can easily lose your cultural identity if you are trying to escape from a reality, which is the case for many refugees seeking asylum from dangerous conditions. In Beasts of the Southern Wild, Hushpuppy says, “MY daddy says if he gets too sick to drink beer and catch catfish, I should stick him on a boat and set him on fire so they don’t plug him into the wall.” This quote illuminates the will of her father and her people that most others may not be able to relate to. In the film, they fought for their home. Their culture and their people. Hushpuppy’s father tells her what he wants done to him before others who don’t understand what kind of life they lead, to get their hands on him. This was his way of keeping his culture in the midst of devastation.

Similar to Beasts of the Southern Wild, refugees experience rips in their homeland. Whether it be at the hands of their own governments ill governing and enforcement/infliction of their rules and ideals, natural disaster, etc… Refugees must choose in what way they will cope with the present conditions. Will they attempt to flee? Seeking sanctuary in other places, hoping to find a new life, a new home, apart from their poisoned country. Or, will they fight? Putting themselves on the front line, using their voices and their bodies to fight back.

Once in a new place, in most cases of refugees who are undocumented, they are treated as illegal entities. Not human beings, fleeing from death, looking for a life beyond the restrictions of their country. As they move away from their country, they move away from the only home(s) they knew. In their country, they had a life and in their life, they had a home(s). The truth of the matter for most refugees is that they are not always welcomed into countries like America, where you are stripped of your title as human and put into a box labeled with misconceptions and stereotypes. Leading to an ongoing difficult life-path.

As we go through life, we come across countless homes. Extensions of ourselves. A home is a beautiful thing through which life can thrive. We must cherish our home(s) and we must ensure that we allow for others to do the same.

Work Cited:

Zeitlin, Ben, director. Beasts of the Southern Wild. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2012.

“Beasts of the Southern Wild (Blu-Ray).” DVD Talk, www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/58625/beasts-of-the-southern-wild/.

The dangers and misfortunes of Migrants’ journeys and the untold stories of their lives are often misunderstood. Throughout this year, I have researched in dept into the lives of refugees from different countries. I also was able to see the perspectives of how different countries treat these people. In addition, I witnessed one on one conversations with a refugee and people vacationing to the Greek islands which was very enlighting. Enrique decided to come to America to find his mother, just like a lot of refugee stories. For many years Enrique’s mother had been in America trying to make enough money to bring Enrique and his sister to join her. It seems like through all of the research we have done throughout the year that many other refugees stories have many similarities. “For Enrique, Maria Isabel isn’t just a way to stem the loneliness he felt since his mother left him” (Pg 33). I think this was a good example of why it is so important for humans to have connections to other humans. Enrique was really missing his mother when he met Maria Isabel. I also think that it’s important to note why Enrique’s mothers Laudes came to America in the first place. The book explaines that many refugees leave because “ They live on the outskirts of Tegucigalpa , Honduras. She can barely afford food for him and his sister, Belky, who is seven.”(Pg 4). The way Enriques lives in very rough and it’s hard for his mother. There are a lot of other people in the same situation where they are from and in some cases some are in worse situations.
Virtually unnoticed, Enrique will become one of an estimated 48,000 children who enter the United States through Central America and Mexico each year, illegally and without either of their parents. This statistics bewilders me because they are kids my age taking extremely dangerous train rides that a large percentage of people get robbed, beaten or even raped. The experience of immigrants without US approved documentation is difficult. People who do not understand the immigrant experience often believe that it is an easy decision to make and an easy process to go through. The idea that people who do not go through the State Department for official citizenship are taking the easy way out is ignorance. As was highlighted in Exit West, there is a lot of stigma relating to how people look at you . People risk their lives and leave everything they knew behind in the hopes of finding better opportunities. The official process of getting citizenship can take years, some cannot afford years and need to make immediate changes. The hope in the end is that it will have all been worth it, but it is in no way the easy way out. A major theme that is explored in Enrique’s Journey is the youth experience. Language around immigration is harsh in the US. The things that people say against immigration, advocate for it the name of national security are inhumane, and they do not realize that they are often talking about children. While adults do not deserve to be treated harshly, the issue is made particularly important because young adults and children make up a large portion of those who migrate. Rural and blue collar Americans are often concerned that those who emigrate are “stealing jobs”, while that argument is still xenophobic, perhaps it they understood the amount of children who are seeking education opinios would be less cruel. There are no guarantees for immigrants and refugees. They have to find ways to survive in countries that are often unwelcoming, “Refugees had occupied many of the open places in the city , pitching tents in the greenbelt between roads, erecting lean-tons next to the boundary wall of houses sleeping on rough sidewalks and in the margins of the streets” Pg73 (Mahsin Hamid). Nothing about the experience is easy. People also misunderstand what refugees go through emotionally as well. It is emotionally difficult to leave behind their culture and adapt to a new culture. Often times the new culture has a different language which is one huge barrier.“ I understood a mother gave birth alone in a hospital and didn’t even know the language with no one of her people there to wish well to the child in Arabic.”Joanna Kakissis ( Last Resort). In this example, you can see that the mother is unable to participate in a tradition that is part of her culture, because she is caught up in a language barrier. ` I’ve realized that I’ve only scratched the surface of what refugees go through. I’ve tried to highlight that it’s not an easy process and how much more work that the process of becoming a citizen entails. People need to understand what these people go through because maybe instead of refugees being welcomed by hand cuffs we can welcome them with open arms.

Author Note: Dear Reader. I’d like you to read my essay and get comfortable with my words. I want you to place yourself in the text and feel my words.

Dear Someone,

This is not easy for me, an immigrant turned American, to write. Consider this a one-sided and inconsequential letter of a young, lost girl’s words. What is the true definition of home? Can another environment ever replace home? You’re probably wondering why I wrote this. Here’s why. My country, Iran is what I call home sweet home, or at least used to. I couldn’t see myself referring to America as my home. Home is home, and everything else is not-home. That’s the way the world is constructed. The pain I experienced at a young age took a huge toll on me and the person that I am today.

Do you know how it feels to feel lost within yourself? You’ll get used to waking up every day to the new scene that you swear could never get old. You’ll meet new kids, people who are completely different from the ones who lived in your old neighborhood. Nobody will judge you nor criticize you and the most they’d do is stare but who cares? you’d already be used to it. You’ll be so stuck in your current fairytale, so deep into the illusion, that you’d believe that this is the best decision your parents have made in all your years of living. Then days would go by, the trees would start to shed leaves, the news would talk about the rise in killings, the streets would be emptier and so is the hole in your heart because you realized that the change your parents made meant you had to leave behind the family that mattered most to you and you believe so much that you were progressing and growing because you no longer had to sleep with the fear of waking up to bad news, that your cousin didn’t make it back or your papa was brutally murdered in his home and now you’re scared. You’re all alone when you realized that the whole entire world is crazy and rather separating yourself from the people who could protect you the most, you needed to be there with them. Do you know how it feels? Home is the only illusion that makes sense, not the country that you thought moving to would diminish the fear in your heart.

In our defense, we were never looking for a new home, rather a new beginning. We never had intentions of America being our new home, at least not me. Iran would always be home to me. Wasn’t that the true definition of home? Not where you’re from, but where you are wanted. Home is the only place where your fears and doubts are cast aside but my home is fragmented, and although we all know it’s true, I’ll still lose the argument. Even if the evolutionary path of knowledge and wisdom is presented in my evidence. So I will hold my silence and create my own will to survive. And the divide will occur and I’ll still be the outsider.

Definition of home? Home could be a townhouse or it could be a small fire and the light it cast on a few familiar faces. Definition of home? Be it ever so humble, it is more than just a place. But whatever home is… its a way of organizing space in our minds. The reality is, home is where you make it and You will inevitably return to your original home at the end of such a journey.